Banana Muffins....first post frm ma mom...

yea...u r right...the blog is named after her...still her first post??  was waitin for her to back in action. She was really bsy these days .. Now she is a bit relaxed & is back to baking & xperimenting.... bt easy recipes though...

I can't say much abt ths muffins as I did never taste it...bt ma daughter luvs ths a lot & requests  her grandma to make it for her on her vacations...

Here goes the recipe as said by ma mamma...

Ingredients:


eggs 3
sugar 1 cup
oil 1/2 cup
milk 1/2 cup
baking soda 1 tsp
cinnamon powder 1/4 tsp (original recipe is to add 2 tbsp)
maida 2 cups
banana 2
prunes/blueberry 1 tbsp(blueberry ws in the original recipe..she added prunes)
she added choco chips for kids...if u wish u can add 1/2 cup.

Method:

Sieve flour and baking soda together....add cinnamon powder to this & also the prunes/choco chips/ blueberry & nuts to it. Mix & keep aside.


Mash banana using a fork ..Its okay if ther's banana chunks here & ther.

Beat eggs & sugar until mixed well...u can beat it with hand too...add milk & beat again. 


Then pour in oil...mix well. 


Add mashed banana, mix well & then mix in the flour mixture..

Bake in muffin cups 170 degrees to 12 to 15 mts..(if small cups)

dust sugar powder or icing sugar on top... & her grand kids luv it hot !!

Rasgulla blackforest cake & One Lovely Blog Award

aah!! at last....!! I was drooling over all these days since I saw Rasgulla cake in Master Chef.. But  was waiting for atleast some people over here to finish it off ..otherwise the whole cake ll ve to be stuffed into ma tummy !! I'm not a great fan of Rasgullas...don really like the spongy texture of it. But rasgullas with the cake & chocolates is just out of this world. You should all give it a try. Ma kids & hubby don't lik so mch of cream...so coated it lightly with a thin layer of lite cream & with no sugar as rasgullas itself made it enough sweetier.

The recipe in starplus website is not complete in itself. its not clear at all...so i made ma own version of it; like I've baked the usual black forest sponge; ie; with the egg whereas master chef contestants made it eggless. they didn't mention abt blueberry compote used n the cake.Ther were many such flaws in the recipe given..lik layering  details whether they used rasgullas to fill both the gaps between the layers or just in between one layer.

This is a two tier cake (double layered) chocolate cake at the bottom & black forest at the top. The bottom part is small as there were no much people here to finish it off...

Ingredients

eggs 6
maida/white flour 50gm
cocoa powder 50gm
sugar 1 cup
vanilla essence 1 tsp
butter 100gm

For whip cream filling:

Double cream 2 1/2 cups
Vanilla essence 1 tsp
Caster sugar 2-5

Other ingredients:

blueberry compote **
Sweet limes (mosambi)
Tangerines
Rasgullas(halved)
Melons
Dark Chocolate 150g

Method:

1.Prepare chocolate curls. For that, first melt the chocolate in microwave high for 1 min. or slightly more, mix it well & spread the chocolate on a flat surface evenly with a flat knife.You can do it in a double boiler also.Leave it to cool slightly and then push it with a knife into curls slowly. You can c the video below. Don't allow it to cool till it becomes hard as I did. I made this for the first time & it was too hard. I didn't have time to repeat whole procedure again. So used it as it is. You can c the result in ma pic. i didn't get the curls... :)) You can also shave a chocolate using vegetable peeler. For this, the chocolate should be in room temperature. You can microwave the chocolate for 10 sec. to make it to room temperature.

2. Now to make the sponge:


1.Melt butter in a pan separately and leave it to cool.

2.Take the eggs in a bowl & beat it along with sugar till it turns pale & frothy. for about 10-15minutes.

3.Add vanilla essence to it.

4.Sieve together flour and cocoa powder atleast 2 times. And again a third time into the egg & sugar mixture in 3 batches. Fold in nicely. Do not overbeat it. If so, the cake will turn harder .

5.Add melted butter into it & mix well. (the melted butter should neither be too hot nor too cold that it gets hardened.

6.Pour into the greased oven dish & bake it for 40-45 minutes at 170-180 degrees.

7.Allow the cake to cool nicely before assembling.

For layering:

1.Cut the sponge evenly into 3 layers. Rotate the sponge & cut to get even layers.

2.Brush slightly with the rasgulla syrup. Don't use more syrup as ther's enough syrup in rasgullas .

3.Spread a thin layer of cream over it.

4.Arrange rasgullas,tangerines & sweet limes alternatively as shown in the below picture..

5.Drop in 2-3 tbsp of blueberry compote over it.

6.Now layer the second sponge above it. Press slightly. Repeat the same procedure. Now start with the tangerines on the edges as we should get both the rasgullas & tangerines in every bite.

7.Close it with the third layer. Press slightly

8.Now coat the cake with the remaining cream evenly on the top & sides. Here, we might not be able to coat nicely on the sides as ther is a slightly big gap  between layers cos of Rasgullas. Its fine as you can cover it up with the chocolate curls..

9.Press the chocolate curls on the sides & garnish on the top. You can use melons also here to garnish as seen in the programme... I didn't have that , so used half rasgulla ...

**Blueberry compote can also be made by combining 1 cup of blueberries with 1/2 cup of sugar in a pan; Add 3-4 tbsp of water & cook till thick and let it cool.



Sending this to Kids Delight & also to Food Palette series-Brown

Its Award time: I'm so happy to receive ma second award ie; ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD gifted by Tahemeem of  Not So Gourmet

Thanx a lot Tahemeem...Its so nice of her to share ths award with me.. It has been only 4 months or so that I've started blogging and that too inspired frm Shabeena of Shabs cusine.. Thanx to her ...sharing this moment with her too... 

There are some rules with this award. Here they are: 
1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers. Please don't leave it general and just invite all your blogger friends to collect the Award. It's always nice to be nominated so please do the favor and nominate 15 bloggers to share the Award with.
3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.


I would love to share ma award with all these fellow bloggers...was completely confused to choose 15 from many...but then,  had to choose randomly..


1.Shabs Cuisine
2.Priya's Easy & Tasty Recipes
3.Vegetarian Tastebuds

4.Taste of Pearl City

5.Divya's Recipes

6.Easy Cooking for Amateurs

7.My Culinary Creations

8.What's Cooking today

9.Now Serving

10.Torview

11.Essence-de-life

12.Kaarasaaram

13.Swapna's Cuisine

14.Regional Indian Cuisine Blogroll

15.Shanti Krishnakumar's cookbook

Rasgulla

Rasgullas!! are they really tough to make?? I really donno...wanted to give it a try...so here it goes..

These can be used as a base to make a few other recipes like Rasgulle ki nakhre & Rasgulla blackforest Cake

Ingredients:


Recipe courtesy :Manjula

Milk 4 cups
Cane Sugar 1 1/2 cups
Lemon juice 2 tbsp+ 1 tbsp water
.

Method:


Boil the milk at medium high. Do stir occassionally...otherwise the milk will get burnt. Let it boil.

Add the lemon juice slowly.Now,the milk start separating frm the water. Leave it for a few minutes.

Drain this water in a muslin cloth.Run cold water through it. Squeeze out maximum water possible.

Now keep the sugar & 4 1/2 cups of water to boil to make the syrup in a pressure cooker. Don't close the lid now. The syrup should be so thin. Just allowing it to dissolve in water is enough.

To check whether the paneer is ready, you can take a few in your palm & rub it for a few seconds & then if you could make a smooth ball with it, paneer is ready .

When the paneer is ready, knead it well & make a few balls with them. This ball will double in size once cooked them in syrup. So take care of that while shaping them.

Now put those balls in the syrup & close the lid of the pressure cooker. After one whistle, simmer the flame for about 7 minutes.

Open them, cool & serve.

Now in certain cases, the balls may be broken or flat (out of shape). Don't worry, as u can turn them into another dessert.

If these are scattered, drain them, boil some milk & make a kheer with them garnished with almonds & pistachios. I'm sure you would luv them. And if they are flat, make rasmalais... :))

MARBLE CAKE

Can be used as a base for many recipes like Pound Cake Tiramisu

Recipe Courtesy : Creative cake decorating.com
 Ingredients:

Butter 225 g
Caster sugar 225 g
Self raising flour 225 g
Salt a pinch
Baking powder 3/4 tsp
Eggs 4
Cocoa powder 2 tbsp
Milk 7 tbsp
Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Method:
 
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. (If you have 'CAKE' option in your oven, then jst click it)

Mix cocoa powder with half of the milk and leave aside.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar till soft and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt.

In another separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt 3 times. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.

Finally add in vanilla essence and combine well. Transfer 1/3 of the batter into a separate bowl and add the cocoa mixture to it. Mix well.

Scoop the plain batter and chocolate batter alternately into a well greased & floured cake tin. It will now look like a chess board. Run a jam knife or skewer through the batter in an 'S' motion to get a marbled effect. Level the top and bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely before decorating it.

Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

Cheesecakes....the name itself fills my mouth with water that a small boat could easily be driven on it.. My first attempt on cheesecakes was some 3 years back when there was a small gathering in my house after ma cousin's marriage. That was a non-baked one; was okay but the base was not set..may be the butter i used was not enough. But still I didn't give up, the second one was better than that...Since then, it has been one of my favorite dessert...and the blueberry syrup tops it all. I was hesitant to buy blueberries always becos of its sour taste. We can't find the best of it in this part of the world where I lives.So used to depend on the canned blueberry topping. But this time I dared to buy some and it turned out delicious. It was so sweet that I thought of trying it at home and I just loved it....awesome, delicious or ' RAD RAPPAD RAPCHUND RAPCHUNDAS BAPKA' (as per the words of Vaibhavi merchant)

This is from Martha's collections, as usual, could do justice to the recipe ,but not in looks. Next time I should work more on its looks and will update the pictures so.. The base was not even and this was the first time i tried the upper crust. I would have made it more thinner.

RECIPE TIME:(I took half the meausure ,which ws enough for my family of 4)

BLUEBERRY TOPPING (you can make it with or without the topping)

Ingredients:(Makes enough for 1 cheesecake)

• 1 1/2 pints (3 cups) blueberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook until berries break down, about 4 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate, covered, until cold (or up to 3 days).

CHEESECAKE:

INGREDIENTS:(Serves 8 to 10)

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs/Digestive biscuits/bourbon biscuits
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 16 ounces sour cream/hung yoghurt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Boiling water, for roasting pan
• Blueberry Topping

Method:

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap exterior of pan (including base) with foil.

Stir together butter, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Press mixture firmly into bottom and 3 inches up sides of pan. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

Make the filling: Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Reduce speed to low, and add sour cream***, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Beat until well combined (do not overmix). Pour into chilled crust.

Set springform pan in a large, shallow roasting pan. Place in oven. Carefully ladle enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until cheesecake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. (it took 30 mts for me as i baked for half the measurement  & ma oven also requires slightly lesser time than in other ovens) Transfer roasting pan to a wire rack. Let cake cool in roasting pan 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from roasting pan, and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 8 hours (or overnight).

Run a knife around edge of cake, and unmold. Spoon topping over cake. 

**Hung Yogurt can be prepared in home by hanging yogurt tied in a muslin cloth. If you can't find any place to hang it, you can place the same on a strainer(after tying in a cloth)kept over a deep bottomed vessel for few hours.
 

How to make Graham Cracker Crumbs at home

***You can buy already made graham cracker crumbs in a bag or box. Buying your graham crackers crumbs already made is quick and time saving but it can cost you more then if you make the graham cracker crumbs yourself.

When you make your own graham cracker crumbs all you need is the graham crackers, a rolling pin and a sealable plastic bag. 

To make graham cracker crumbs take the plastic bag and put in some crumbled graham crackers. Then seal the plastic bag well so the crumbs you make can't escape out of the plastic bag.

After your crumbled graham crackers are in the plastic bag take the plastic bag full of crumbled graham crackers and lay it flat on a flat surface like a counter top. 

Take the rolling pin and roll it over the plastic bag full of graham cracker crumbles. Keep rolling the rolling pin over the plastic bag of graham cracker until you see that the graham crackers are turning into crumbs. You can see where the rolling pin needs to go as you roll it over the plastic bag. Try to get all the large pieces of graham cracker to crumble.

When you are done you should have a plastic bag of graham cracker crumbs to use for all your favorite recipes needing graham cracker crumbs. You can store any graham cracker crumbs that you don't use in the plastic bag for future use. The graham cracker crumbs will stay good to use in a plastic bag for a long time.

This post is going to Food Palette Series Purple hosted by Torview

Hot & Sour Soup (Hasee style)

This is ma sissy's post. Haseeba is now here with us for her vacation. She is a very Sourry gal that she needs all her dishes to be sour to the core & her daughter Masha Allah is just lik her mom; she is just 2; but drools over any currys or soups..the genetics rule over her tastes too... :))

In her own words::

A perfect soup for this season...

Ingredients

chicken stock 2 cups,cabbage 2 tbsp
carrot finely chopped 2 tbsp
spring onion 2 tbsp,
vinegar 1 tbsp,or hot sauce1 to 2 tbsp
soy sauce 1 tbsp
chilli sauce 2 tbsp
chicken pieces(optional) 2 tbsp
ginger julien 1tsp
garlic crushed 1 tsp,
parsley 1 tsp
pepper as per taste
egg white 1
butter
cornflour 1 tbsp
salt if needed

Method:


1.Take a wok and put a slice of butter in it.Add on ginger garlic and fry for ha lf a minute.


2.Now put the veg in to it.saute for another half minute and pour stock in to it.Let it boil for 5 to 7 minutes.

3.Put the chicken pieces in to it.add salt if needed.

4.Then pour all the sauces and vinegar or hot sauce in to it.Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

5.Beat egg white with a fork and add on to the soup stirring well.Add  chopped spring onion.

6.Finally mix cornflour with litttle water and pour in to the soup.and see whether it keeps its consistency.

7.Garnish with pepper,parsely and a slice of lemon...

8. If u want add some finely sliced green chilli in to it while serving which adds little more spice in to it....


Sending this to Soup Event hosted by Dil Se

Chocolate Rabri & Blueberry compote Cups - Ma 50th post

Happy Valentines Day to One & All....

Valentines day & ma 50th post ....... wat more do I need to celebrate?? Was planning to bake a chocolate cake bookmarked months ago for this day, but had to postpne it again coz of ma son's illness. I really couldn't find time to bake one; was thinking of some easy recipes when this one came to ma mind. This was the one I thot of  trying it since I've seen Radhicka( Master Chef,India) making this. It was so yummy & chocolaty that i luvd a lot.. the combination of chocolate & rabri is new for me...& blueberry!! SONE PE SUHAAGA HO GAYAA !!

Ingredients:

500grams:  Dark Chocolate      
1 litre:  Milk
1 cup: Blue Berries
1 cup: Sugar

Special Equipment Requirement:
-15 Muffin Paper Cases
-1 Thick paint brush

Method:

1. Melt chocolate on a double boiler. Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a mini muffin case with melted chocolate and refrigerate to set. If u want a thick liner, then coat it again for a second time, after setting...& then refrigerate again.

2. Put the milk in a heavy bottom pan, and put on low flame. Stir constantly till reduced to half. Cool a bit and mix in 3 tbsp of sugar.I reduced it to 1/4 cup. It took abt 1 hr for me..Rabri in the literal sense means condensed milk. Please do not get confused....you can make rabri at home by reducing full cream milk to a consistency you would be pleased to eat. Condensed milk that we get in tins is a highly reduced and sweetened milk that is used to make mithais and confectionery.

3. Combine blue berries with 1/2 cup of sugar in a pan. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water and cook till thick and cool.

4. Remove the chocolate cups and carefully tear the muffin case before the chocolate starts melting. Spoon rabri in half the shell and spoon blueberry compote next to it. Garnish with a mint sprig.

5.Allow to set for atleast 4 hrs.

Chicken Chettinad

Chicken chettinad is no stranger among Indians. It's an authentic south-indian dish hails all the way from Tamil Nadu. A flavorful but spicy dish. I still remember when I had this dish from 'Anjappar restaurant' in Singapore. It was so spicy that we couldn't stop drinking water till morning. Sometimes I feel that the fiery taste predominates all other flavors in it. That was the first and last time I had this dish from a restaurant; didn't have the courage after that.. :)) But I used to make this at ma home so that I can adjust it to ma spice level and I guarantee you that it's such a fingerlicking dish that you guys will defenitely try it again.

I've seen many varieties of this dish. I saw this one in a tv show ,some 8 years back & don't remember whose recipe was this. But I strongly guess it was Laxmi Nair's ....not sure though.

 Ingredients:

For paste:

Coconut grated 3/4 cup
Poppy seed (roasted and soaked in water) 2 tsp
Red chilli -whole crushed 2
Cinnamon 1"
Cardamom green 2
Cloves 2
Fennel seeds (Saunf)- 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Other Ingredients:

Chicken 500 gms
Oil 45ml
Sliced onion 1
Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
Star anise 1/2
Red chilli paste 2 tsp
Pepper powder 1 tbsp
Tomatoes chopped 3
Lime juice 1/2 no.
Coriander leaves 1 tbsp
Curry leaves 20
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Water 2 cups
Salt to taste

Method:

1.Make paste out of paste ingredients.

2.Heat oil in a pan and saute Onions till golden brown.

3.Add ginger-garlic paste & stir fry for a minute.

4.Now add the grounded paste ,star anise,pepper powder & red chilli paste. cook for 2-3 minutes. If you are lazy to make paste of red chillies, then simply mix red chilli powder in a little water & keep it for sometime to soak. (just a substitute; but better to soak red chillies in water & make a paste of it)

5.Add the chicken ,mix well & cook in high heat for 5 minutes.

6.Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook till masala leaves sides of the pan. Add 2 cups of water and salt; Let it cook till the chicken is done.

7.Add lime juice, curry leaves & garam masala. mix well.

8.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or any pathiri. I love it neipathal always...

Fish Biriyani

 I haven't posted any biriyanis in ma blog yet. Was not sure whether to post it or not...there are so many delicious biriyani recipes in different blogs that I thought to keep mine away from those. But now, as some of ma friends requested to post it; here it goes:

This is ma mom's spl recipe. She makes the masala black in color, which is really yummy. & we kannurians never uses any color for our biriyanis....we luv the natural color of it.

 Ingredients:

Marinade:
Fish 5-7 pieces
Red chilli powder
Salt
Pepper

Other ingredients:
Ghee 1 tbsp
Oil 1 tbsp
Onion 150-200 gms (depends on how u wud luv ur masala to be..)
Ginger-garlic paste 2 tbsp
Green Chillies 5 or more
Tomato 1 big
Red Chilli powder 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala * 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves 3 tbsp
Mint leaves 2 tbsp

For rice:


Jeerakasala /Basmati rice 1 1/2 cup
Water 2 1/2 cups
Lime Juice 3 tbsp
Ghee 1 tbsp
Oil 3-4 tbsp

Method:

1. Marinate fish in marinade ingredients & keep refrigerated for about 1/2 an hr. Then shallow fry it. Keep 2 pieces without marinating...lik belly pieces or something. Add this to the masala without frying...so that it'll give a nice flavor to the masala.

2.Wash rice atleast 3 times & drain. Make sure that no water is left behind.

3.Cut onions in chunks & pulse them in a food-processor or blender. Don't make paste of it. Just crush them. You can slice them too; but crushing makes it easier to cook.

4.Heat ghee & oil in a pan. Add crushed onions & saute for 2-3 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute again for a minute more.

5.Now add tomatoes , red chilli powder & coriander powder. Add the fish pieces which we kept aside. Cook till masala is done. You can saute in between. Don't take care of the fish.. let it break down into pieces.

6.By the time, heat ghee & oil in another pan to cook rice. Put rice in it & roast it for 5-6 min in low flame; till it changes its color.

7.Now add boiling water,salt & lime juice. Lime juice is used here to get the rice separated.(not stick to each other). When the water & rice reach the same level, close the lid & allow it to simmer till the rice is cooked. Saute in between.

8. Now time for Dum. For fish biriyani, my Mom always put masala at the bottom to turn it to dark color as u can see in the pic. It always tastes good so. So the masala should not be that dry; otherwise it will get burnt.

9.the dum procedure goes like this. first masala at the bottom, then rice, garam masala powder, coriander & mint leaves. If you are making in huge quantity, then you can preserve some masala to layer it in the middle also & then, repeat the procedure.

10. Garam masala smells & tastes good if u make it at home freshly. I used to make it fresh ;a small qty; whenever ther's some guests arrived. It really smells awesome..

Garam Masala (yields 2 tbsp)

Saunf 1 tsp
Cardamom 2
Clove 2
Cinnamon 1" stick
Black Cardamom 1(only the inner thing)
Nutmeg 1/2
Star anise 1/2
Mace 1

Heat this for min or 2 ..till a nice aroma gets out of it. then powder it using a garlic crusher.(spice crusher).

Seafood Pizza (Prawns)

This time ,decided to bake a healthier version of pizza just by trying out Whole wheat flour instead of White Flour. My son is now so fond of pizzas that he need it every now and then. As I'm very health & nutritious conscious regarding kids,(like any other mom), thought of baking whole wheat flour crust so that it may not affect him badly.This recipe for the base is from Veg Bowl . Just copy pasted as it is as she had explained it really well.

Seafood pizza is a nice alternative to the traditional cheese and tomato pie, and there are so many different options. This one features shrimp, mushrooms and capsicum as seafood pizza toppings, as well as sliced black olives. If you are concerned about fat content, consider using low fat cheeses - just make sure that they melt well. Imitation crab meat can also be used, but will not have the same kind of flavor.

Use this pizza with your favorite medium thickness crust recipe, or simply purchase a premade crust from the grocery store. While fresh is certainly better, these can be extremely convenient. You will love this delicious seafood pizza recipe!

Ingredients -

For the base: (From Veg Bowl (blog)

1 tsp dry yeast
1/4 cup sour yogurt or warm milk
A tsp of sugar
Salt to taste
1 cup all purpose flour / wheat flour
Water, if required
1 tsp Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, mix some dry yeast in warm milk, add a tsp of sugar and salt and stir to dissolve it. Set aside for about 5 minutes so that the yeast dissolves well.

Heap the flour into a large bowl and make a hole in the center. Pour the yeast mixture, extra salt (if needed) and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Mix the well and form a soft dough. Add water if its stiff to bind, add more flour if its too wet. Knead the dough well and pat with a tsp of oil to cover the dough from all sides. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for an hour.

After an hour or two, the dough would have doubled in size. Now punch the dough down and divide into 2 balls. Roll into thin crust or thick crust as per your preference. Poke a few holes into the dough using fork to prevent the dough from rising from the center. Pizza base is ready!

For the Toppings:
 
1 twelve inch unbaked pizza crust
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup crab meat
¾ cup small shrimp (I've used only prawns)
½ cup fresh or canned pineapple, drained and chopped
5 white mushrooms - sliced
4 ½ ounces sliced black olives
¼ cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded 
 
Preparation:
 
Pat dough into a greased pizza pan or place on pizza stone.
Brush with olive oil and top with all other ingredients, starting with seafood and finishing with cheese.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F or 200C and bake pizza until cheese bubbles.
(Serves 3-4)

Pizza Roll

Recipe Courtesy: Chef Zakir (Masala tv)



There was pizza dough left with me already when I saw this show & so I used the same dough. It was a Whole wheat flour dough & used sausages as I was too lazy to defrost ma chicken for a single roll. But still it tasted awesome...It was spicy, tangy & cheezyyy.....


Ingredients:

For the dough:

Plain Flour 1/2 kg
Yeast 20 gm
White Butter 20gms
Salt 20 gms
Sugar 15 gms
Water to knead the dough

Sauce and chicken

Chicken breast 300 gms/I used sausage here..
Tomato paste 1 cup
Garlic paste 1 tbsp
Red chilli flakes 1 tbsp
Oregano 1/2 tsp
Thyme 1/2 tsp
Oil 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

Combine all the dough ingredients & knead to a fine dough .Place the kneaded dough in a bowl & cover it with a plastic foil.

For the sauce and chicken, heat oil in a pan & saute garlic.

Add all other sauce ingredients & allow to cook chicken on low flame. Turn off the fire once your sauce is thick.

Roll the prepared dough with a rolling pin & top it with the chicken & sauce. Use mozeralla cheese to top it & seal the corners. You can place a tbsp of cheese on top of the roll.

Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 10-15 mts.



 You can check the video to clear your doubts: Pizza Roll Video

Strawberry Cupcakes

By now, you guys mst ve noticed  that I'm a great cupcake lover or rather a lazy (amateur) baker !! I love to bake cookies and cupcakes always; may be because of the easiness of the baking process. Nothing can go wrong while baking these...; i guess...

Recipe Courtesy: Friday Weekly
Photographed by Jeeju (Shefeek Mtp)


Ingredients:

Unsalted butter 90g
Castor sugar 1/2 cup
Eggs 2
Self-raising flour 1 cup
Natural yoghurt 2 tbsp
Strawberry jam 2 tbsp

For the icing

Butter-1 1/2 cups
Icing sugar 1 3/4 cups
Strawberry Jam 2 tbsp
Fresh Strawberries 12 sliced
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:



In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar, then add eggs slowly. Fold in flour and add yoghurt. Then strawberry jam and mix well. Spoon batter into muffin cup lined trays. Bake at 180 C for 16-18 minutes.

*For the icing, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Then add strawberry jam and mix. Spread icing evenly over cooled cupcakes. Add sliced strawberries as toppings and dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Tip
Remember to scrape the bottom of your mixing bowl as sometimes the blender may not mix all the ingredients thoroughly enough.

Sending this to Food palette series PINK